• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Michigan State goes for season sweep of Northwestern

Jan 21, 2009 - 11:20 AM Northwestern (9-6) at No. 7 Michigan State (15-2) 6:30 p.m. EST

EAST LANSING, Michigan (Ticker) -- Having already registered a win over Northwestern just over two weeks ago, seventh-ranked Michigan State will look continue its dominance over its Big Ten rival when the teams meet on Wednesday.

The Spartans (15-2, 5-0 Big Ten), winners of 11 straight games since a 35-point loss to then-No. 1 North Carolina, are off to their best conference start since 1977-78.

With the 77-66 win over Northwestern on January 3, Michigan State extended its winning streak to 12 games over the Wildcats. The Spartans have won 19 of the last 20, 39 of the last 41 and 21 straight in East Lansing against Northwestern.

Raymar Morgan had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way while Kalin Lucas added 17 points and nine assists. Chris Allen scored 16 off the bench.

In its last contest on Saturday, Goran Suton had a team-high 12 points as the Spartans used a 39-26 rebounding advantage to edge Illinois, 63-57.

Northwestern (9-6, 1-4) got in the win column in conference play with a 74-65 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. Craig Moore drained six 3-pointers in a 22-point performance and Kevin Coble added 20 points for the Wildcats.

The duo, which is averaging a combined 28.7 points per game, scored half of Northwestern's 66 points on just 11-of-29 from the field, including 6-of-18 from 3-point range, in the loss to Michigan State on January 3.